Lithuania weathered China‘s furious rally in the fourth quarter to win, 78-67, in their Round-of-16 matchup of the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Istanbul, Turkey. Linas Kleiza, Lithuania‘s scoring machine, saved the game for the Lithuanians as he top scored with 30 points. Kleiza narrowly missed a double-double by grabbing 9 rebounds.

The Lithuanians seemed to be on its way for an easy win against the Chinese as they led 64-51 after three quarters. But the Chinese defended well in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter as they cut Lithuania‘s lead, 67-62. It was however, the closest China got as Kleiza took over the offense and Lithuania improved its defense. China failed to use their height advantage with Wang Zhizhi playing alongside Yi Jinlian as Lithuania outrebounded them, 50-30.

Liu Wei top scored for China with 21 points. While Yi and Wang chipped-in with 11 points apiece.

Lithuania will now advance to the quarterfinals of the 2010 FIBA World Championship and they will face the winner of the Argentina versus Brazil matchup.